Press release…
Stating that the export of carob products to China in June increased by 1,572 percent and reached 1.7 million dollars, Onur Kılıçer, Chairperson of AKAMİB, said, “The value of cosmetic goods produced from these products reaches billions of dollars. As our country, which is the second largest carob producer in the world, can process these products, its return to the economy will be many times greater.”
Mediterranean Furniture, Paper and Forestry Products Exporters’ Association (AKAMİB) realized an export of 81.1 million dollars with an increase of 40.5 percent in June. With its exports in June, the Association escalated its exports by 42.6 percent in the first 6 months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching an export figure of 428.6 million dollars.
While AKAMİB exported 49.5 million dollars of furniture with an increase of 39.3 percent in June, with the acceleration of global trade, exports of timber, crates, cages and pallet products used by the logistics sector increased by 71.4 percent to 13.8 million dollars.
Even in the most effective period of the pandemic, exports of non-wood forestry crops, which did not disrupt the rise in exports, surged in June. The forestry crops sector, which realized an export of 3.9 million dollars with an increase of 38 percent in June, heightened its exports by 53.5 percent in the first half of the year and reached an export figure of 31.2 million dollars.
Evaluating the success of the sector, which also includes endemic plants such as laurel, licorice and thyme, AKAMİB Chairperson Onur Kılıçer explained, “There is no alternative to the crops grown in the soil of our region and we need to evaluate these products, which are used by different sectors from cosmetics to the pharmaceutical industry.”
“The R&D investments required for our industry, which has continuously increased its exports even in the winter months of last year, when the demand for many products came to a standstill, should be encouraged to sell not only raw materials but also processed products as well,” Kılıçer added…